Crockford on JavaScript: a Public Lecture Series on JavaScript
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Browser Size, a Simple But Useful Tool From Google
Browser Size does just what the name implies. Enter a URL, hit “go” and you’ll see just what percentage of the internet will see what without scrolling. Scrolling isn’t quite the bugbear it once was, but for certain types of pages immediate impact is still very important (campaign landing pages are a good example,) so having this as an easily accessible tool is really nice. Sure, designers have these guides in Photoshop and developers can resize the window with the Web Developer Toolbar, but this handy web-based tool is just the kind of thing to use in a meeting.
For an example of the output, here’s this site put through the wringer:
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I’m Presenting at WordCamp Boston January 23, 2010
I’m excited to announce that I’m going to be speaking at the 1st WordCamp Boston. I’ll be talking about the marriage of two of my favorite technologies: WordPress and HTML5.
The Future is Now: WP Themes With HTML 5
Excited about HTML5? Wish you could start using the new semantic elements right now? You can. In this presentation Rob Larsen will show you how to create cross-browser, HTML5 enhanced WordPress themes using nothing more than a little extra JavaScript, basic WordPress knowledge and some knowledge of the new elements.
Check out the rest of the program.
It takes place January 23, 2010 and is being held at:
Microsoft New England Research and Development Center
1 Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02142
Thanks once again to Microsoft for hosting pretty much every technology group in the area 🙂
Microsoft’s CSS Filters, Could The Syntax Be Any Uglier?
The answer is no 🙂
While some of the functionality of MS’s CSS filters is actually pretty useful (sue me, I need to use them from time to time), the implementation is ugly as hell. Ryan, one of the smart guys here that helps me fool people into thinking I know what I’m doing, had to implement the Microsoft gradient filter as a (brilliant) hack for a performance issue on a small subset of IE browsers. We were discussing the solution and then he called up the code.
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What I Read This Week (jQuery’s live(), algorithms, IE8 + VPN, Chrome )
These are the posts that have kept me engaged during my quiet moments this week.
Demystifying jQuery .live() and why it’s generally faster than .bind()
A short article looking at jQuery’s .live().
Just what it says it is- a big-ass list of algorithms. I wish more had source code.
Using a VPN Clobbers IE 8 Performance
The folks at HttpWatch detail the ins and outs of the way that IE8 handles their enhanced connection rules. The browser is set to use 6 open connections, but only when a broadband connection is in use, so there are situations where it can fall back to using just 2.
(down)Loading JavaScript as strings
Steve Souders is a font of performance wisdom. I wish I’d been able to check out the Velocity Online Conference today.
Technically speaking, what makes Google Chrome fast?
Front end engineers can learn much from the people who make browsers. That’s the case here. The video content is excellent.
Computer science in JavaScript: Base64 encoding
This is a great series, moving the discussion of JS beyond the browser and the DOM and into a more primary, and therefore really interesting, realm.